66th of Season of Air, 57th year of the 32nd cycle

The green light glared in the claustrophobic space barely larger than a coffin. It shone from below, painting everyone’s face a ghastly play of green and shadow. Newt’s heart drummed so hard, he was certain it was beating against Everlast’s breast.

An eternity seemed to have passed in the uncomfortable press of bodies, in the shaking and subsonic booms rattling Newt’s bones. Everlast was terrified, embarrassed, and uncomfortable, Newt could see it from her face. He was certain his face was no better. Dandelion, however, seemed relaxed.

Everlast caught it too, her eyes focusing on him.

“I have had worse,” the former sect master shrugged while answering the unasked question. As if to question the statement, a sudden crash toppled them, leaving them a tangle of limbs on the ground too cramped for even one person to lie down.

Newt was on the bottom, Everlast atop him, her nose pressed against his, and Dandelion was atop of them.

Even in the green light, Newt could see Everlast turning crimson. He opened his mouth, but a massive hand clamped it shut. Dandelion shook his head and straightened himself. He glared at Newt and slowly helped Everlast up, before giving Newt a hand.

The bang and furious bellowing were gone, replaced by faint vibrations.

‘It took the bait,’ Dandelion mouthed, then went back to moving their bubble of air through solid rock at a snail’s crawl.

The vibrations grew fainter and fainter, until they completely disappeared, but Dandelion kept shifting them at an unchanged pace for what seemed like hours.

“Puresnow is in danger,” Everlast whispered, but Dandelion shook his head.

“Your master said she would watch over you outside the cave. She will be safe.” Dandelion focused on moving the rocks before he continued. “And that is assuming the fifth realm frostworm leaves the tunnels instead of burrowing through the mountain in search of us.”

“How deep underground are we?” Newt asked. Much to his surprise, Dandelion shrugged.

“We went down about a thousand feet, maybe twelve hundred, but I have no way of knowing how tall the mountain is beyond that. We have advanced deep into it.”

Dandelion closed his eyes and answered the question he was certain was coming. “We are ascending about an inch per minute, or five feet per hour. It will take us at least two hundred hours to leave this place, and that is without accounting for the breaks I will need to replenish my spiritual energy.”

He looked at Everlast. “We will be stuck here for at least ten days, if your master does not come to our aid.”

The Everfrost Palace disciple shook her head. “Master believes in true honing through life and death. We have jade tokens which will inform her of how we died, but she gave us no life-saving measures.”

Newt nodded. Elder Frostgrave gave him the impression of a cold, ruthless woman.

Maybe my clan wouldn’t have declined the way we did if we followed her approach?

It was yet another interesting thought for the future, assuming they escaped the elder frostworm’s wrath.

“What are our odds of defeating the fifth realm frostworm?” Newt asked.

“Zero.” Dandelion’s voice was grave. “Third realms are easy. We are prepared and have basic tactics; the three of us could handle three at the same time without injury, thanks to our skills and elements. We can take on one fourth realm safely, but we could only slay a fifth realm spirit beast through a fluke. That means crossing two realms to fight it. Essentially, it is impossible.”

“What about spell formations?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I have learned a number of useful ones, up to the sixth realm. We lack the resources, the time, and the space to set one up. But, yes, spell formations were invented to fight and defeat stronger opponents by substituting personal power with preparation and environment.”

Half an hour passed before Newt asked the next question. “How come your spiritual energy doesn’t become unbalanced? You clearly have all the elemental types, but you have been using earth-aligned spiritual energy exclusively.”

“Newstar,” Dandelion’s voice was grave, “you are not expecting me to answer such a question without offering equally valuable knowledge, are you?”

In truth, Newt was expecting a straight answer. The information did not feel like it would harm Dandelion in any way, and it would benefit him immensely.

“Let me repeat your question for you.” Dandelion no longer circulated his spiritual energy as he focused his undivided attention on his pouting friend. “Newstar, could you give me your clan’s ancestral techniques and secrets?”

No!

Newt immediately clenched his teeth, but before he could answer Dandelion continued talking.

“And yet you expect me to give you the bits of knowledge I have compiled after countless hours of reading and countless resources I have given to the imperial libraries?”

Dandelion neared Newt so close their noses almost touched.

“Are you not being too greedy? Expecting something you did not earn just because I have a habit of offering pointers?”

“Newstar,” Everlast interrupted, “the question you asked was very rude. Discussing cultivation is a tentative matter at best, you never know when the other party is lying to you. And directly asking about other’s secrets is taboo. Disciples of some sects might attack you outright, regardless of your youth and ignorance.”

Newt nodded. He did not understand what the problem was, both with others and himself. His clan’s arts were not impressive. Increased mobility was welcome, but Dandelion could already fly while Everlast glided on ice she created. Retaliatory flames were also good, but getting hit to use them was an outright deadly disadvantage for most fire cultivators.

There was no rational reason he should refuse to share the techniques, yet the very thought made his stomach churn.

“I understand. I am sorry, Senior Dandelion.”

Dandelion nodded, his face still grave as he continued manipulating the surrounding rock.

“I am not angry,” he said after a while. “There is little that can make me angry anymore. However, as Everlast just said, you need to mind your tongue and rein in your curiosity. I have tried to teach you that exchanges of goods and knowledge do not come easily or without consequences—”

Dandelion faltered, his gaze glued to the ceiling. Right above their heads, the rough grayish-green rock revealed a smooth blot, sparkling with the color of an emerald. Newt recognized it immediately. It was simpler, more primitive than the one back at his clan’s mines, and definitely of a different element, but the pressure he sensed no doubt belonged to a core.

“Is that a—”

“Do not touch it.” Dandelion slapped Everlast’s mesmerized hand away from the bright patch. “That is a core. We are doomed if it pulls us inside a sixth or seventh realm. I will navigate us around it, and we can notify Elder Frostgrave once we are out of here. How does that sound?”

“Sounds great,” Everlast said, and Newt nodded. He could not imagine the amount of wealth they had stumbled upon.

With that money, I can find Father and Mother and buy their freedom!

“You needn’t worry about Master, she has a righteous soul and she will give you a fair reward.”

“Us,” Dandelion corrected. “We split everything in four equal shares.”

“What is a fair reward for this?” Newt asked.

“If it’s a sixth realm core, it should be around ten-twenty sixth realm spirit stones for each of us. If it’s a seventh…” Everlast gulped. “It should be an equal amount of seventh realm spirit stones.”

“Do not even consider it,” Dandelion sobered Newt before he could start drooling over the riches. “We cannot own even fifth realm spirit stones without endangering our lives. Elder Frostgrave will keep your funds safe, maybe spend them on your behalf after consulting you. But what is important at this moment is that we survive this danger, leave the caverns without getting discovered, and reach Elder Frostgrave.”

Dandelion started shifting the bubble trapped inside solid rock to his right.

“Remember, Newstar, life is your greatest treasure. Wealth you can amass and lose countless times, but only while your heart is beating.”

Newt wanted to argue. His clan was miserable, his parents enslaved, and if he took years before he grew rich enough to change their fates, it might be too late. His parents might die, his clan might crumble.

“Newstar, listen to Dandelion. Once you join a major sect, or a grand sect even, your wealth, the wealth of your family, and the status of your enemies, they all become irrelevant. Everfrost Palace is merely a major sect, yet after becoming its disciple and taking a sect name, all my family’s enemies went quiet, and as I increase cultivation, they not only cede the territories they fought over with my family, they are willingly sending more gifts.”

She looked Newt in the eyes.

“Trust me, personal greatness is worth more than any amount of wealth. Become powerful, become respected, and others will send spirit gems and treasures your way without you having to lift a finger.”